Unsuccessful annulment cases in Malta : the last five years

Abstract

The number of couples asking for a declaration of nullity of marriage on the grounds of lack of discretion of judgment and inability to assume marital obligations is increasing year after year, with a percentage of couples still not obtaining such declaration. This raises questions as to why certain marriages would not be declared null, and also as to what really amounts to an incapacity to contract marriage. This thesis provides a study of judgments which were delivered by the Ecclesiastical Tribunal and by the Civil Court Family Section, in view of the abovementioned grounds of nullity, and which upheld the validity of the marriages of the parties to the cases. This study aims at providing the reader with the reasons underlying the refusal of a declaration of nullity in the cases under examination.